BYD Sealion 5 SUV

1.5 DM-i Design 5dr Auto [2026]

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you can’t fail to have noticed that Chinese brands are making major in-roads into the UK leasing scene, and few manufacturers have been as successful as BYD.

BYD’s sales in the UK have skyrocketed, with a 500% uptick in 2025 compared with 2024 and with the firm having now established itself as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles, overtaking Tesla.

While BYD bills itself as specialists in fully-electric cars, like the Tesla Model 3-rivalling BYD Seal and the bargain basement BYD Dolphin Surf, it has also embraced plug-in hybrid tech.

And this, the Sealion 5, is the latest PHEV to join the party, hot on the heels of the Seal 6, the plug-in hybrid Atto 2, and the Seal U (the latter of which is the best-selling PHEV in Britain).

The Sealion 5 is a mid-size SUV that’s aimed squarely at customers with families. It’s got similar proportions to leasing heavyweights like the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and the MG HS.

But where the Sealion 5 is hoping to carve a niche for itself on school runs across the land is that it’s exclusively available as a plug-in hybrid and, with a cost that begins at just £29,995, it undercuts a slew of competitors on price.

In fact, the Sealion 5 is so temptingly priced that it competes with similarly sized internal combustion engine-powered SUVs.

Yet despite the relatively small outlay, you can still expect an abundance of creature comforts, with base models boasting 18-inch alloys, black vegan leather upholstery, electrically-adjustable seats, and a large 12.8-inch touchscreen.

An EV driving range of up to 53 miles on a single charge sweetens the deal, as it’s highly competitive for the class (without leading it).